Star Fox: Origins of Corneria
by ThatDamnUmbreon
Summary: Back after a long hiatus! When an abandoned base is discovered in the Cornerian desert, Star Fox is dispatched to investigate. However, things don't go exactly like they should, and Star Fox finds themselves siding with an unknown ally.


Star Fox: Origins of Corneria  
Prologue

_**Back after a long hiatus and rewritten, 'Origins of Corneria' has returned to see the light of production and publishment! I apologize for the excruciatingly long delay, but with things sorted out on my end I hope to actually finish this time. The story features the same plot, with revisions in storytelling to ensure a more flowing and believable situation. I hope you enjoy this rendition as much as, and more than, the original!**_

_Many years ago…_

Location: Tiger Lake Research Facility

Jason O'Rourke, 43, sat in his chair and sighed as the mediocre game he had been playing lost his attention yet again. His fingers had ticked away at the screen of the tablet computer in his hand, sending a ball flying around a field for the simple purpose of earning points that served no purpose. A man of little resolve, O'Rourke leaned back in his chair and set the tablet on the wooden desk in front of him. He tapped his finger on the arm of his seat, resting his head on the other as he wondered how else he could spend his break other than eating. His lean figure had once not been so lean, and he had spent the better part of a year to keep it that way. Once a decorated veteran O'Rourke now resided as the chief military advisor for a civilian contractor of the US Government. It was his job to oversee the protection of the facility owned and operated by the Tiger Lake Research Corporation, and so far he had done a good job. Of course, not many people have much of an interest in the technology officially produced by this company, but the unofficial stuff was always the best stuff. Teleportation, quantum computing, light-speed travel, and more speckle the list of unofficial research occurring here, while the official stuff is more boring, save for the railgun research. Every now and then the telltale boom of a railgun test could be heard throughout much of the facility campus, although sometimes those booms aren't a result of the railgun. In fact the railgun was a cover to explain the booms that were actually the result of some other experiment taking place.

Whatever the case, the tired man simply wished he hadn't accepted the job in the first place. Otherwise he wouldn't have seen his career stagnate in the same office with a maxed out salary and benefits. He could've become much more, but instead was relegated to this job, which paid well at $200,000 per year annually, yet something in the back of his mind itched at the other possibilities he could've had. Regardless, he was here. And that would not change. Nor would the aggravating sound of hands rapping on his door constantly, as scientists frequently had another issue with his placement of security guards and Marine protection. To them, he was more of a government spy, sent to make sure they weren't doing anything that would be a danger to national security. This title was one held by his predecessor, and every single one before that since the 1940's. As such, the rapping on his door which jolted him out of his daydreaming was something that had become quite normal, and in fact if a day went too long without it occurring he would become nervous that something bad happened.

Jason rose from his chair, buttoned the jacket around his waist, and approached the door. He took a deep breath, ready for the talking-to he knew he was about to get yet glad it was happening, as it would give him something to do. He gently unlocked the door and opened it, only to have it slammed open in his face as Doctor Eleanor H. Freeman, 49, burst into the room. The doctor was a slender woman, whose flowing red hair and dark blue eyes were constricted by the protective net around her head and the black-rimmed glasses across her freckled face. She stormed into Jason's office with the fervor of an angry bull, causing the much larger man to back up and raise his hands in defense as she began speaking.

"Of all the nerve!" Freeman began, "I thought that the fifth NSA scandal last week was intrusive but this takes the cake, O'Rourke! I won't have you sending an _entire squad _of your hired dogs along with this experiment, I just won't have it! We have spent countless hours perfecting this technology for the good and peace of mankind and you choose to send dogs of war along for the ride? I won't have it I simply will not have it!" The woman wagged her finger in O'Rourke's face, her other hand making wide gestures around the room. For a woman only 5' 6" tall, she created a very strong and imposing figure once angered, so imposing that the 6'2" O'Rourke was almost afraid of what she might do to him. Instead, he simply sighed and looked her in the eye.

"I am well aware of your opposition to this decision, Dr. Freeman," he replied calmly "But I have been instructed to send these _Marines_ along with you. As absurd as it sounds, my superiors at the Pentagon feel that there may be a significant change in the way the world works in the coming years and they wish to ensure you are protected once you awaken." He deliberately stressed the term 'Marine'. Having served in the Corps for the better part of his adult life, hearing another person refer to men he would consider his brothers as 'dogs of war' was insulting, despite the recent events surrounding the US. It was an unspoken bond shared by all Marines, and to a lesser extent shared by every member of the military. O'Rourke simply cracked a small smile to the woman, pushing his way past her as he remembered something he needed to take care of. "There's simply nothing I can do."

The smaller woman was not going to be turned down so easily and she followed behind the man, continuing to belittle him in front of passing researchers and guards. "It's just not fitting!" she rattled on, "It's not right that the government feels they have the right to intrude on everything they feel necessary needs their oversight! Having you and your people here is bad enough but sending them on a controlled experiment to a simple destina-"

O'Rourke quickly spun around and cut her off. "Doctor, your experiment is hardly controlled. You're using an untested technology to halt, preserve, and restart life over the time period of multiple years! Any number of things could go wrong in that time, you and I both know that worldwide opinion of the United States has hit a record low in the past months after the mishap with the Chinese, anyone could invade or attack and then you'd be in trouble, wouldn't you?"

"If the US is invaded then your soldiers will be in just as much danger as us, won't they?" Freeman quickly responded, crossing her arms and glaring at O'Rourke from behind her glasses. O'Rourke simply paused, then heaved a sigh of resignation, his head dropping down to glance at the floor before returning to meet her gaze.

"Yes, Doctor, I am well aware of the pros and cons. But as I stated this was not my decision. This order came straight from the Secretary of Defense and was approved by the President himself. I cannot circumvent it. Rest assured that I personally believe nothing will go wrong and that it will all have been done out of paranoid preparation." He smiled slightly but was not greeted with a smile in return.

"I still don't like it." Freeman curtly replied. O'Rourke placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Everything will be fine. I'll be at the start of it to see you and your colleagues off, and to ensure that my Marines know you are to be protected at all costs should the unthinkable happen, okay?" Freeman paused before giving a slight nod and leaving. O'Rourke merely turned and returned to his original task.

The next morning went off without a hitch. Though O'Rourke had to send a squad of Marines along he was able to choose who to send, and as such he assembled a squad of volunteers together. He met with them, gave them his regards and thanks, and presented them with their official squad callsign, aptly named 'Gamble'. His last words to them were "Should anything go wrong, and I don't expect it to, you keep those scientists alive at all costs." These words were met with a chorus of 'Yes Sir's and Gamble Squad took their places in their cryo chambers with the three volunteer scientists. One by one, the protective glass domes closed on each chamber and the tube filled with a gas. Within minutes the bodies of every person was perfectly preserved in artificial stasis, the chemicals working to maintain life, but not stop or progress it. O'Rourke said a few words before the men and women there, and returned to his daily workload. If all went to plan the people now put into stasis would be woken up in two years, to meet with the sound of applause, cheering, and congratulation.

But nothing ever goes to plan, does it?


End file.
